All the Best (and Worst) Things
by WatchfulJewel
Summary: Of all the things he thinks about, Chase does think about his family. He thinks about the relationship dynamics and tries to put everything into nice, logical, emotion-free terms. But in the end he almost always ends up thinking about all the best (and worst) things.
1. Adam

It isn't just something that happens every day. It just happens to be something he thinks about. He doesn't notice it most of the time, but when he does it's on his mind for the rest of the day. And so he thinks, because what else can the super intelligent bionic human do all day?

He thinks about all the best things.

Like when it's Monday and he's overslept, and Adam is the one who wakes him up with that gentle, brotherly shove that he loves. Or when the team is finally going on a mission and Adam walks around his siblings, tightening the straps of their packs, straightening their mission suits, checking the equipment _three whole times._ Or even when he isn't around, but he still knows what Adam has been doing when he's not there. He sees the bags rearranged or moved out of the way so no one can trip over them and he realizes Adam is always looking out for everyone in that big mansion.

Like when he wakes up after a cat nap and finds himself wrapped in a blanket, and he knows it's Adam who did it because he can smell the sickening 'morning breath' that goes with his older brother. Or when he's at school and a few kids decide to push him around a bit and Adam walks over, scares them away with just a look, and doesn't speak about it ever because it's embarrassing to need your older brother to save you, but reassuring to know that he'll always be there to do it. Or even when Adam is insulting him, but there's that smile to prove his brother doesn't mean it. Adam doesn't really mean anything bad he says about him.

And when Chase finally falls asleep, still thinking about all the best things about his brother, Adam walks in the door with a cup of frozen yogurt and sees Chase on the couch, smiling in his sleep. So Adam sets down the frozen treat and hunts down a blanket, wrapping it around his baby brother gently so as not to wake him. For half a second as he goes to pull away, Adam could swear he sees Chase open his eyes. But when he turns back a second later, his brother is still sleeping exactly the same. Perhaps he might be smiling a bit wider, though...

* * *

It just happens. Chase doesn't mean anything he says about Adam, not really. He calls Adam an idiot, and he doesn't really _mean_ the insult. It just happens, it's a brother thing. So, logically, Chase should know that if he doesn't mean what he says about Adam, Adam doesn't mean what he says about Chase. Hell, he does know that. It still happens.

He thinks about all the worst things.

Like when he's foolish enough to fall for it, listen to the beginnings of a compliment, and then it somehow always surprises and hurts him when Adam follows through with an insult. Or when he opens himself up for a just a second, like on that freighter, really says something important about himself, and Adam takes the opportunity to insult him in any and every way possible. Or even when he genuinely feels scared or unsure about who he is or what he's doing. Adam never passes up an opportunity to make him feel bad about himself.

Like when he really tried to help Adam, really wanted to take care of his brother, and Adam laughed about how he almost died for a week. Or when Mr. Davenport says something thoughtlessly hurtful, such as 'Hustle and Muscle... and _Chussle'_, and he really thinks that maybe his brother will care enough to stand up for him, but Adam only laughs and piles on. Or even when his life is in danger after he _saved_ their lives. Adam only jokes about his possible death.

And yeah, it really is stupid. But doesn't Chase deserve to be stupid? After working so hard to live up to the standards stacked so high, working so hard to be impressive enough to warrant attention with 'Hustle and Muscle' constantly stealing the spotlight, Chase deserves to at least be bad in his own mind. So Chase can think these things about his brother, these really horrible, angry, verging-on-hate filled thoughts because...who cares? If he complained about any of it he'd never live it down. Chase could already hear the insults about how sensitive and emotional he is. So Chase thinks it quietly in his head as Adam makes another crack about his height and Bree laughs too loud to not be insulting. And it's fine for now, but Chase can feel it coming. He knows he can only take so much before he snaps, and he doesn't know what he'll do when it happens.

And that thought terrifies him.

* * *

**Thanks for reading this short little piece I've written. So, I've been wanting to write this for a while now and it's been distracting me from my other story. This is really just a short little nothing. I'm going to have one chapter for each person in the Davenport-Dooley household, Chase being the last, with one part for the best and one part for the worst. If it sucks, tell me so I can try to suck less in the future. And if anyone thinks this is actually good or cares to read more, I would love suggestions for who to write about next. Finally, I made a few indistinct references to Sink or Swim in here, if anyone noticed.**


	2. Bree

It's always the little things that matter. Those things that no one else seems to notice, but he does. Every time it happens he can't help but see it. He smiles and thinks about what makes her do it. Those little things that make her the best sister in the world, the little things she does without thinking. Only he thinks about them enough for the both of them.

He thinks about the best things.

Like when he's just sitting there with Bree, and she leans against him with her head on his shoulder and falls asleep. Or when he's up way too late working on a project, alone and thinking everyone else has gone to bed, and then Bree walks in and runs a hand through his hair absently as she walks by, like she used to do so often when they were kids. Or even when he's at an all time high-or all time low. Bree is always there to give him that smile that he has to return because her laugh is that infectiously joyous.

Like when he makes a mistake, and Bree is there to laugh it off and cheer him up with just a few jokes. Or when he says the wrong thing at the wrong time, insults Adam the wrong way and they aren't speaking to each other, she takes it upon herself to set him straight and tell him what he's done wrong, help him fix the mess he's made. Or even when there's nothing wrong and everything is perfectly normal for a change. Bree just spends her time with him and that's all she has to do to make him feel special.

Except Chase doesn't have the guts to tell her any of that. So he just smiles at her when she giggles at his joke, setting her precious phone aside to give him her undivided attention. It's the little things she does that make him realize how much he loves her. Those seemingly unimportant instincts, those little, random things she does without thinking. Those are the things that make him feel loved. The things that remind him in hard time and difficult moments that she loves him. That he's her brother and she's his sister. Those are the things that matter most. Only he can't tell her that, so instead he just laughs with her and tries to pour all of his emotion into his eyes. Then her phone _dings!_ and she turns away from him. Sighing, Chase goes back to homework, feeling the harsh sting of rejection even though it's completely irrational.

He doesn't see when Bree looks up at him in confusion, having heard his sigh. She opens her mouth as if to speak, then closes it. Then she tries again-just as her phone beeps. Somehow, it feels wrong to answer that text. It feels like a mistake to slip into her 'Popular Bree' persona and disconnect from the world around her like usual. And when did that become usual? But then her phone beeps again, and she just has to pick it up. Instinctively, she turns completely away from Chase and tucks her chin against her chest as she texts. This time she doesn't look up when he sighs.

* * *

Sometimes it stings. Sometimes there are these little things that feel like a slap in the face. And sure, it's part of growing up. It's part of branching out and becoming different people. It still stings. It feels more like growing apart, and he doesn't like it. And every time he thinks about it, it hurts. So maybe he's weird for thinking about it. Maybe it's some kind of weird form masochism to others, but it's just his nature to think about his problems. It's just who he is.

He thinks about all the worst things.

Like when he opens his mouth to talk to Bree, calls to her and she doesn't even glance up from her phone to acknowledge she even heard his call. Or when he's at school, where he's a social outcast, and he hears Bree talking with her friends and goes over to her, and she looks at him like she's never seen him before and walks the other way. Or even when he's on a mission and he is doing the best he can in the stressful role as Mission Leader. She just can't stop herself from mocking him with Adam or making pointed jokes about appointing a new Mission Leader.

Like when he screws up _one_ time, and Bree just took over his job on the mission and showed everyone how unnecessary and irrelevant to the team he is. Or when he almost got himself killed to prove himself to her, to prove himself as good as her, and he came back from that experience to find a euphoric Bree, who then did a one-eighty and started to snap at him or even pretend he didn't exist. Or even when he finds himself in real need of a sister to comfort and love him. Now that Bree has other friends it seems she doesn't have time for him anymore.

When it was just them, the bionic siblings and Mr. Davenport, it was easy. Bree loved Chase like he was her son. She acted like he was, even though he was just a year younger than her. For the first few years of his life he called her 'Momma'. Then she was 'Bee-Bee', his loving and caring sister. She was proud of his intelligence and would play word games with him all day, almost as if helping him develop his skills. It's hard to do anything but love your little brother when there's only three people in the whole world you've ever met. He always had hours of Bree time every day. Even when she went to play with Adam or to spend time by herself, she was still always in the same room.

Suddenly every other night was a sleepover at Caitlyn's house and between the hours of eight A.M. to three P.M. Bree wouldn't even acknowledge his existence. Then she wouldn't look at him because her eyes were glued to her phone and she would order him to stop talking to her because it was distracting. Suddenly the only time they really had together was on missions, where she made what could be serious cracks about taking his job, his only real achievement. Suddenly, she wasn't his sister anymore. She was a stranger who happened to look a lot like his sister. Chase didn't even know who she was or what she did in her life.

Chase never felt less like a brother.

**Okay, here's the next chapter. I did Bree because that's the suggestion I got, and to answer one reviewer, yes, this is all in Chase's point of view until the last chapter. While we're on that subject, I want to personally thank every one of the five people who took the time out of their busy lives to leave such heartwarming reviews. You really made my day with those kind words. Also my sincere thanks to MoonlitShadowsoftheHumanSoul or either of the staff of his/her community, Best Lab Rats Stories, for being kind enough to add my story. It was so cool to check online and see that. Best surprise I've had in a long time. So, for the next chapter I'm torn between doing Donald or Leo. If anyone cares to give their opinion to help out, it would be much appreciated! Thank you all so much for reading and please review.**


	3. Donald

He never had a mother or a father. He had a creator. For a four year old kid, even an intelligent, bionic one, that concept was hard to grasp. The difference between father and creator, the line between the two, was smudged a lot more often than it should have been. So nowadays he likes to remember those times when he called him 'daddy' because he just didn't understand the difference. He likes to think about those things he has long since grown out of.

He thinks about all the best things.

Like when he was five years old and it was his birthday, and Mr. Davenport sat with him the whole day reading him to sleep with a child's story book instead of a tech manual or an atlas for once. Or when he was seven and he fell off the top of the rock climbing wall, Adam had dared him to try it without the harness or any other support, and he was screaming his little head off, so Mr. Davenport held him until he stopped crying and then convinced him to try climbing again-with the supports. Or even when he's a teenager and no longer a little kid in need of constant attention. Mr. Davenport still manages to spend enough time with him to make him feel important.

Like when he has a project for school and Mr. Davenport helps him, stays up late just for him. Or when Mr. Davenport is working on a new invention for Davenport Industries, comes across a bug that can't be fixed, trusts him enough to let him in on the prototype and takes a minute from 'being awesome' to act so much like a dad it's hard to remember to call him 'Mr. Davenport', even for the Smartest Person in the World. Or even when he screws up because all of a sudden he's on his own and he hates it and he does stupid things. Mr. Davenport says there is always a lesson to be learned and somehow manages to forgive him all his temporary insanities.

So Chase knows he's Mr. Davenport, not his father. Chase knows about Douglas and about boundaries and about being a disciplined team. But then, Chase also knows that Douglas can go to hell and Mr. Davenport is the only father he'll ever have. Even if he can't say it, he always thinks it. And when his siblings say 'everyone knows you're his favorite', he can't keep the smug smirk off his face. Because, just maybe, it might be true.

So when Chase looks up from his textbook, which he's already memorized, and sees Mr. Davenport working on another new invention, he has to do it. For the one-on-one, father-son time he absolutely lives for, he has to do it. For the attention he wishes he didn't crave, he has to do it. As he sets his book aside, he wonders if his siblings are right. As he stands up and starts to move across the lab, he wonders if maybe he needs the attention too much. Maybe he is acting superior, and maybe, just maybe, that's what makes them say those insult-sorry, _jokes-_that he doesn't feel like laughing at. Maybe he's a bit too much like Douglas for his liking, and for a second that freezes him where he stands. But when the second is up, he moves on. Because even with all the 'maybe's going around in his head, he still needs it. So Chase leans over Mr. Davenport's shoulder and says,

"What are you doing?"

* * *

Sometimes he has a bad day. Now, that doesn't mean he doesn't love his father. After all, when you love someone enough, it's easy to ignore their annoying habits and insulting nature. But on a bad day, he notices. He notices these things that make him think he will explode, make him think he is so small cast in the shadow of his siblings. And when he notices these things, he thinks about them. He thinks about the things no one else seems to notice.

He thinks about all the worse things.

Like when he literally almost _kills_ himself to impress his father, and Mr. Davenport can only see the 'flash' of Hustle and Muscle. Or when Mr. Davenport came up with that horribly catchy team name, _Hustle and Muscle,_ and he got to be _Chussle_, and thank God Mr. Davenport put that big brain into use and thought up _Flash Glue_ to really make him feel like part of the team. Or even when his step-brother Leo came into the mix and suddenly became Mr. Davenport's favorite. Because Leo didn't have to work as hard as he possibly could or use every breath and every decision in an effort to be noticed.

Like when Mr. Davenport just let Leo become a part of the duo-now trio-that works The Call without a second thought, and they both seemed to forget how long it took _him_ to fight and beg his way into it. Or when Leo tricked and conned his way onto the mission team, and of course he's glad the Leo is part of team, but no one seems to be able to remember those fifteen years of training and training and _training_ besides him, and of course Leo just gets to skip all the work and go straight to the fancy desk and cool name tag and sneaking his way onto the actual missions. Or even when Leo does something like endanger everyone on the team and Mr. Davenport absolutely has to punish him. Someone should have realized by now that a slap on the wrist won't teach Leo anything.

And it's not like Chase doesn't love Leo. It's not like Chase could imagine his life without the medium-sized, three mile accident-radius troublemaker. It's not like Chase is actually questioning the way Mr. Davenport runs the team. But, man, it would be nice if there weren't so many standards that he has to meet, and it would be even better if any of them applied to Leo. It would be great if Mr. Davenport could pick up a hint and figure out how Chase feels about Leo moving in on all the activities that used to be just theirs. To be honest, Chase is jealous. He's tried to squash it and act like the superior genius he is, but then Leo started inventing things. And that just isn't allowed, because Chase can think ahead. Chase knows what comes next. If Leo starts inventing things that _work_, Mr. Davenport will start to notice. If Mr. Davenport notices, he'd want to get Leo more involved in the behind-the-scenes action at Davenport Industries. And if Leo get more involved with Davenport Industries, just how long is it going to be until Mr. Davenport names Leo his heir and turns the company over to him instead of Chase? Most people would say Chase is being paranoid, but those people don't Mr. Davenport. Those people don't know how easily Chase fades when it comes to his family.

And so Chase is scared of Leo. Not like he was scared of the Monster in his Capsule when he was five, or the way he's scared of Adam and his Bionic Brother Toss, or even the way he's afraid of Bree and her Mission Leader Jokes. No, Chase is scared of Leo in a way he's never been scared of anything in his life. Because isn't he the obvious choice to one day take over Davenport Industries? With Adam, who walks away from Math long before the letters start, and Bree, who's always wanted to travel the world and never once had the ability to competently own a business like Davenport Industries, wouldn't Chase be the only one to do it? Except if you add Leo into the mix, everything Chase has always known for a certainty about his future goes up in smoke. Everything he's dreamed about doing with Davenport Industries-gone. And Chase hates to think this way when he so desperately needs Leo, when Leo is the only person he can hang out with who doesn't make Chase feel self-conscious. But he can't trust Mr. Davenport with Leo acting like a rising star, so he has to think of Leo like an enemy. So that's what pushes him to walk up to Leo, hating himself for his motives, and ask,

"What are you doing?"

* * *

**Okay, so wow. It's been that long since I updated? Since it used to be summer, I really have no excuse. Well, thank God for disease! I got sick this last week and I've been writing and rewriting this all weekend. I'm not too happy with the top half, but I'm pretty proud of the bottom, if I do say so myself. So, sorry it's been so long and I hope I can keep this updating thing up for the rest of the week at least. I have an eye infection thing going on, and I'm highly contagious! No school! Which, though bad for my education, is proving pretty good for my writing. Someone asked me to write Leo next, so I'll be getting started on that. Don't forget to review!**


	4. Leo

The thing about the whole step-brother-thing was the novelty. It was new, different. A relationship that he had never experienced before, and sometimes he takes a moment to think about it. Because shouldn't he love his brother and sister more than anything in the world? And then there's the step-brother, and he just has to think about it. He just has to think about what this new, different person does that changes his life so abruptly.

He thinks about all the best things.

Like when Leo and him entered the robot fighting contest and then went out for ice cream, and how he had never felt so much like a brother in his whole life with Adam. Or when Leo helped him stage his first protest against 'The Man', and told him what he could be if he was willing to take it, and then he was just thinking of how Adam only told him about what he was, how Adam had never even tried to show him any part of the world like Leo constantly did. Or even when he acts like an idiot and screws something up like only he can. Leo has always had his back the way a brother should and the way Adam almost never does.

Like when _he_ screwed up the drone thing and Adam and Bree were busy fixing their own screw-ups and Leo kept saying it was about himself and getting himself on the team, but he always thought that maybe Leo was doing it for him too. Or when, when you really stop to think about it, perhaps it wouldn't be the most awful thing in the world if Leo was on the team, if Leo was there to have his back. Or even when _he_ does something wrong and it ends up hurting Leo. Leo called him a brother and maybe that glowing feeling is just for older brothers.

Because how is he supposed to know? His 'picture perfect family' is only picture perfect if that picture happens to be by the definition of 'dysfunctional'. And before Leo, he'd never been an older brother. He'd been the youngest, the baby. Though that may come with perks when you're an actual baby, the fact that Adam and Bree will only ever see him as their annoyingly arrogant baby brother is just plain aggravating for a teenager. However, he is older than Leo. He will never be a baby to Leo. He gets to be a big brother for the first time in his life, and so for all he knows that feeling, that mixture of pride, adoration, protectiveness, and all-encompassing affection is a feeling reserved for big brothers, and the younger brothers play a different role.

The only mix of emotions he feels about Adam are a positive and a negative, never something that powerful and that wonderful. Chase thinks he remembers feeling utterly safe and loved, and _happy_, from when he was younger. Now when he sees Adam, there's still that familiar sense of safety, of home. The warm love that fills him from the heart out and the childish will to fold himself into his brother's arms and just be held. Then Adam opens his mouth and says something demeaning, a backhanded compliment or thinly veiled insult, and Chase feels like crying. Fear penetrates the warm, fuzzy emotions, and anger, self-hatred, _anger._ But of course, he's almost a full grown adult and he can't cry over a joking insult. So he throws one right back with the smug smirk, exuding superiority just to let Adam know that, in more childish terms, 'I'm rubber, you're glue, whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you'.

Of course, it's not like Leo doesn't insult Chase exactly the same way. Leo calls him creepy, mocks his social awkwardness, and seems to fully enjoy taunting Chase's supreme intelligence in that annoyingly cocky voice. But it's a different relationship dynamic there. Chase expects Leo to dish it out like a pro, and he truly loves to give it back without shame or hurt feelings. With Adam, Chase expects subtle encouragement and high-fives and brief, one-syllable acknowledgements of achievement. Chase expects a mature older brother, which he supposes he'll never get. And perhaps it's hypocritical of him to expect that from Adam and then turn around and start messing with Leo, but that's his only example of how a brother-relationship-thing works. So Chase works with what he's got, and never hears any complaints from Leo. And the thought of turning into Adam, and Leo into Chase...

...that leads to not-so-good thoughts.

* * *

Though the novelty of it all never seems to wear off-the side effect of being a bi-polar half crazy fire cracker like Leo in a family of super geniuses and bionic humans-it does become less impressive after a while. Like when Bree begged and begged and begged for that talking, walking, 'Real Life' baby doll and Mr. Davenport finally caved and bought it for her. The doll was a new, different, foreign alien into their safe haven of a world. Something like that, the first bit of the outside world they'd ever gotten, would never get commonplace or usual. But after a few hours Bree got sick of playing with the doll and hardly ever touched it again. He thinks that's what this is, this fear and uncomfortable knots-in-his-stomach feeling. He thinks the shine has worn down to the very last shimmer, and he thinks about what he can see underneath.

He thinks about all the worst things.

Like when Mr. Davenport turned to Leo to get sponsors for his Jetwing stunt and assigned Leo to be some sort of 'pilot' while he was like a freakin' _co-pilot,_ and it seems like no one trusts him to do anything on his own anymore. Or when Leo gets to use the lab, use _his_ tools, and Leo starts to build things like a little Davenport, pretending all the while that he doesn't know exactly whose territory he's stepping into as he does that. Or even when it's something as simple as making a mockery of him at school. Leo should realize Chase goes through enough hell all on his own without needing anyone to start piling on like that.

Like when Leo told the whole school that he was scared of sharks and that he was screaming at the movie, and afterwards the jocks arranged a nice dumpster dive for him. Or when Leo messed with his bionics during a talent show, and doesn't he realize how dangerous that could have been, how the secret could have been out and they were lucky it wasn't nearly as bad as it should have been, all because he was trying to have one cool thing to impress the mass of Neanderthals with. Or even when he's trying to just disappear into the background. Leo somehow always finds a way to shine a spotlight of humiliation right on him.

Because it's all about Leo. Because Leo spent his whole life as an underdog. Because Leo finally has a hot girlfriend, and a wedgie-free day, and a small degree of popularity and what kind of brother would take that away from him? And suddenly being that mature, big brother is just so hard. It used to be about Chase. Well, Adam, Bree, and Chase. But Chase took after Donald at such an early age, and while Adam and Bree were being 'average' bionic humans, he got to play with daddy. And sure, playing with daddy involved highly dangerous electronics and complex math equations that could turn Stephen Hawkins' head.

But still, he was the golden child. Adam couldn't spell 'math' and Bree, though clever, was by no means 'book smart'. Adam had strength and Bree had her speed and instincts, but Chase was just smart. Incredibly so, and that made him the center of Donald's overall affection since before he could remember. Then comes _Leo_ and he's just so smart, so ready to learn. So good at learning. Chase hates to see him succeed, as horrible as it sounds. But every time Mr. Davenport gets that look in his eyes, the one that Chase had always assumed was reserved for him, and starts going over Leo's project like he's supposed to do for Chase, it's like a punch to the gut. It's like, _hey, look how easily you can be replaced!_

It's like all those things Adam and Bree say about how insignificant he is to the team is true, and not even Mr. Davenport is on his side.

* * *

**Wow, has it really been that long? Darn, I kinda suck. Well, here's a new chapter for anyone still reading! And, uh, if you could just hit that review button for me? Go on, it won't bite...**


End file.
